We Need To Be Healthy For Our Kids

I wrote this for Beverly Hills Child Magazine and it was originally published in the January 2011 issue.



There are many benefits to being healthy and physically fit. Most of us are aware of how our being healthy benefits ourselves. We know that exercise helps to keep our heart strong and prevent heart disease. We know that weight bearing exercise helps to strengthen our muscles and that more muscle mass increases our metabolism. We know that maintaining a healthy body mass index and not letting ourselves get overweight helps prevent diseases such as diabetes, high blood pressure, heart failure and a host of other health problems. We know that strong bones help our posture and that strong stomach muscles can help prevent back pain. We know that being physically fit means we will have more energy than if we were heavy or out of shape. We know that eating healthy food like vegetables and other fresh produce helps prevent certain cancers.

There are a myriad of health benefits to maintaining a healthy weight, eating a healthy diet and getting a moderate amount of daily exercise. And we know about these benefits. Newspaper headlines shout about these benefits to us regularly. Television newscasts inform us of these benefits almost daily. We already know.

But parents are busy people, and often we ignore these warnings about diseases that being overweight can cause. Often we ignore the headlines that tell us to eat fresh produce every day. What some of us don’t understand is that when we ignore these articles, like the ones that tell us we should exercise to help prevent heart disease, we are being completely selfish.

Selfish sounds like such a harsh word. But it fits. Letting ourselves be overweight and unfit, eating fatty, sugar-laden food, sitting watching television instead of going out for a walk, all of those things are selfish acts for parents to do. How is it that doing something that is normally seen as only harmful to ourselves can be called selfish? It’s selfish because our lives are no longer our own once we have children.

By not taking care of our bodies, all kinds of things can happen. We can become more prone to injuries and illnesses. Our children need us to be able to take care of them, and that is very difficult to do if we’ve got injuries that keep us from walking easily, or keep getting sick and have trouble getting out of bed.

We can develop chronic diseases. These can be really frightening for our children to see in us, their parents. If Daddy goes into a diabetic coma, his daughter is going to cry and worry and miss him until he is okay, and then she will continue to worry that it might happen again. If Mommy faints because her blood pressure is too high, her son is going to cry and worry and miss her until she is okay, and then he will continue to worry that it might happen again. The safety he once felt will be gone.

We will have less energy. Anyone with small children knows how difficult it can be to keep up with them when all you want to do is sleep. We need all the energy we can find to keep up with our children and to have the patience that they so often require from us. Many of us will have less patience when we are tired. And many of us will be less able to concentrate when we are tired. And children are incredibly inventive at getting into trouble when parents are too tired to be patient or to concentrate fully.

We can die. It is silly to think that playing fire with our health will only affect ourselves. Any child who has lost a parent will tell you that he was never the same again. Our children need us to be in their lives. They need us to give them love and hugs. They need us to help them with homework. They need us to encourage them, to teach them, to listen to them, to talk to them, to just be there for them, always. They need us to live.

We also need to be an example for our children. Our children need to see us being healthy. They learn more from what we do than from what we say. If they see us eating fast food and sitting in front of the television most of the time, then that is what they will learn to do. If instead, they see us eating fresh fruit and going for a walk every day, then they will learn that from us.

It is selfish of us to live an unhealthy lifestyle. By living an unhealthy lifestyle, by letting ourselves remain overweight and unfit, we are harming our children. This is a new year, a time for new beginnings. So let’s start this new year by making a promise to make sure that we are living a healthy lifestyle for our children. We owe it to them.



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Ten Ways To Exercise With Your Child

This is an article I wrote for Beverly Hills Child Magazine in their September 2010 issue.

As parents, we can be full of excuses for why we aren’t getting enough exercise. One of those excuses, often enough, is our children. We say that we don’t have enough time to exercise because our children take up so much of our time. We complain that we don’t get enough time to spend with our children as it is so how are we supposed to give some of that time up in order to go to a gym?

But we aren’t the only ones for whom getting enough exercise is important. Obesity is becoming a growing epidemic in many first world countries, and it is up to us as parents, to make sure that our children don’t become one of those statistics.

So how do we give up the excuses and make sure that we, and our children, get enough exercise? Here are ten suggestions.

1. Take your child on a picnic at the park. Bring along healthy snacks. Picnics at the park are the perfect environment for playing, running and being active.

2. Take nature walks with your child. Children love to go for walks and try to spot different animals and birds along the way. It’s also a great way to spend some real quality time with your child while she talks to you.

3. Dance with your child. Turn on the radio or find a music channel on the television and let yourself be silly. It will get your child moving and also create a wonderful memory for your child in the process.

4. Plant a garden with your child. Digging in the soil, watering the plants, pulling weeds and pruning the plants is all physical activity that helps to raise the heart rate and makes a great way to exercise while helping the environment and, if growing your own fruit and vegetables, saving money too.

5. Play ball with your child. Something as simple as throwing a ball back and forth with your child is a great way to get him exercising without him even realizing that he is doing any.

6. Sign you and your child up to learn something new such as dance or karate. These clubs are great ways to exercise while learning a new skill and spending time with your child.

7. Have your child join a sports team such as soccer or baseball. Team sports are a great way for kids to get some exercise. Many team sports allow parents to volunteer as coaches, team moms or just to help out during practices, and going to your child’s games will show your child you support her. Don’t just sit and watch her play though. Follow your child up and down the field from the sidelines and cheer for her!

8. Walk your child to and from school each day. Walking your child to school each morning is a great way to spend some time with your child before the school and workday begins, and you will also get to hear about your child’s day while walking home. Not only that, but by not driving, you will be cutting down on pollution and creating less traffic congestion near the school.

9. Take your child swimming. Not everyone has a pool in their backyard, but there are many public places where you and your child can go swimming. If neither of you know how, then you can take lessons together. Swimming is a fun way to get some exercise that works out the whole body.

10. Just play. Kids love it when a parent is willing to run around and play games with them. Play a game of tag or “Duck, Duck, Goose.” There are so many children’s games that will get both of you active. Just get out there and PLAY!



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Finding The Fun In Exercising With Your Children

Last Saturday, Robert, the children and I all went for a picnic in the park. Our friend Helen came too and brought three of her four children. She also goes to Slimming World with us, so we made sure to pack healthy food for our lunch.

It was a wonderfully fun day out in the sunshine, and we found various ways to get some exercise that felt more like fun than exercise. I, for one, was walking around after the children all day trying to capture photos and video of them, so I got a lot of walking done that day. (I also got a mild sunburn, despite the sunblock I had applied before we went out.)

Here is a short video clip showing just a small amount of the many ways we found to exercise without feeling like we were exercising. Helen rolled down the hill with the kids, Kayla (one of my teenage daughters) chased after little Cameron, Robert carried Cameron on his shoulders for a bit of weight training, and Helen pushed the children on the swings. There were lots of other ways that we played with the children and managed to be exercising at the same time, but the video would have been too long if I shared them all!



What things do you do with the kids that could count as exercise?

A Week Of Gratitude

I can't believe it's already been a week since I've posted here!

I've been keeping up with my writing for National Novel Writing Month, and I am going to make the 50,000 words for the month that NaNoWriMo had challenged me to write.

I started a new business creating awesome gifts for people which help inspire their kids' creativity and build their confidence and at the same time make wonderful gifts for grandparents, teachers and parents. Your Kids' Creations (You can also check out my husband's on-line business which is in making beautiful fairies out of your photos, each one totally unique. Check out the woman fairy wearing green. That was made out of her "after" photo once she's lost a bunch of weight. Fairy Magic Photos)

I lost 2 1/2 pounds at my last weigh-in, and I behaved myself for Thanksgiving Day, so I am hoping I will see another loss this month.

I now weigh 150 pounds, and I am only 15 pounds away from my goal weight! I've lost 122.5 pounds total so far.

My family has all been suffering with different stages of a really bad cold, and it appears that I have it too. At the moment, my little 3 year old Connor seems to have the worst case out of all of us.

And because yesterday was Thanksgiving, I thought I'd list some of the things I am thankful for.

1 - My loving and wonderful husband (who cooked Thanksgiving dinner for me and our family and guests and also did most of the cleaning up afterwards).

2 - My adorable, kind-hearted, creative and clever kids who amaze me with their wit, charm and creativity every day.

3 - My friends, both on-line and off-line, who all have my love and gratitude.

4 - My parents and siblings who, although they live thousands of miles away, are always in my thoughts.

5 - My pets who make me smile each day with their antics and need for cuddles.

And I am thankful for so many other things that I can't even begin to list them all. I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving Day!

I'll check in after Monday night's weigh-in.

Strong

I've lost a lot of weight, and I've noticed a lot of changes in my body along the way.

I'm not as tired as I used to be. I get more done around the house, and, when I get enough sleep, I don't drift in and out of sleep every time I sit down during the day. Before I lost the weight, I used to get so sleepy throughout the day. It didn't make a difference if I had plenty of sleep at night, I was still tired. But now, as long as I've had a good night's sleep, I don't get sleepy during the day.

My memory is better. It's not perfect, because I am a mom and thus subject to mommy-brain. But before embarking on my healthy lifestyle, I was always forgetting things and finding it difficult to concentrate. Now, I have a much improved memory and ability to concentrate.

I'm more active with my kids. Just last weekend, Robert and I took our six year old daughter Gabriella with us for a long walk with the dog. I ran and played with both her and the dog, and it was a joy to see her smile and to hear her laughter. But, when I first started running with the two of them, the first thing she said was, "Mommy! You're running! I've never seen you run before!" And the sad thing is that she was right. I had never run with her before.

I'm physically stronger. I used to struggle to carry my children when they were babies. I'd get exhausted and my back and arms would ache after holding one of my babies for just minutes. Now that I exercise, eat healthy and even lift weights on occasion, I lift my two year old Connor (who will be three in August) without too much difficulty. We play "airplane" where I will lift him by one arm and one leg and spin him around until we're both too dizzy to go on. (Like most kids though, when I put him down, he starts asking me to spin him "again" even while he's still stumbling with dizziness.)

The other day, I took him walking with me to go and pick up his sister Isabella (who will be four in August) from preschool. On the way back, I asked him if he wanted me to pick him up. (Neither of them ask me to pick them up anymore, because they "know" from past experience that the answer will be "no.") He did, so I picked him up and carried him for a couple of blocks. I even ran on and off while carrying him just to hear his laughter Just as I had decided I should put him down and give my arms a rest, Isabella fell over and scraped her knee. So then I had to pick her up and carry her just after I put Connor down. And I had to do some running and bouncing of her in my arms to turn her tears into giggles. About a block later, she was ready to be put down, and then Connor wanted back up in my arms. It was only one block more before we got home. I would never have had the strength to have carried either of them a year ago, before working on my fitness and losing so much weight. (I would never have even offered to carry either one of them.

I'm stronger mentally. I have more confidence now. I believe in myself more. I have a more positive outlook on life. I'm less afraid to try new things or meet new people.

I just know now that I am stronger, more energetic and happier. The only question I have now that I ask myself is why did I take so long to decide to get fit in the first place? Why would anyone rather live their life feeling sluggish, unfocused, weak and unable to do something as simple as play with their children?

What are you doing today to make yourself stronger?

You Owe It To Your Loved Ones To Get Yourself Fit!

I'm tired of seeing parents who can't be bothered to get fit. These people have children who need and depend on them, yet they still complain that dieting is too hard, they don't want to give up their favorite foods, and they can't find the time to exercise.

Now, before one of these parents who can't be bothered gets up in arms about my saying this, I will state that I was one of those parents! I gained a bit more weight with each child and became so completely obese that it was a struggle to get off of my fat ass and do anything. Even worse, I have seven children who depend on me. And I like to think that my husband needs me too.

Yes, exercise is hard work. And resisting the opportunities to binge on sweets and junk food can be challenging. Losing weight and getting fit is definitely not easy! But it is worth it. I am doing this for myself, but I am also doing this for my family. Remaining fat and not doing anything about my deteriorating weight would just be selfish of me.

My kids did not choose to have me as their mom. They're stuck with me. I did, however, choose to have kids. So I owe it to them to make sure that I have energy to be an active parent for them and to keep myself healthy enough to stick around and be in their lives for a very long time.

And for older parents who's kids are grown, don't kid yourself into thinking that this doesn't apply to you. If you love your children, then remember this: There is never a time when your kids stop needing you to be there for them!

If you have anyone in your life who loves you, whether it's a brother, sister, spouse, child, parent, grandparent or a really close friend, you owe it to them to take care of yourself. So stop making excuses and do whatever it takes to make yourself as healthy as you can be.

Caspian Died

Robert just called from the vet's, and our cat Caspian had to be put to sleep. He had liver failure and was dying anyway.

I'm in tears.

Wii Bit Of Exercise!

Hope everyone had a terrific Christmas!

We bought a Wii and a Wii Fit for Christmas. We haven't used the Wii Fit yet, but we have been playing some sports on the Wii.

Gabby, my 6 year old daughter, was playing with our Wii today - the boxing game. It was so funny to watch! Little kids really make the Wii into an exercise art! Robert used his new Flip MinoHD to video her. Please watch this if you want a bit of a laugh (he put it to music and added it to his blog): http://diaperblues.blogspot.com/2008/12/you-know-when-all-you-parenting-has.html (Oh, and comment if you find it funny. His blog needs some comments in it.)

Too bad uploading video to YouTube lowers the quality. The Flip creates beautiful videos! Dh is really pleased with it. (I show a link to the one I bought him in my Christmas post in my family blog http://gigglesandkisses.blogspot.com.) (You'll have to copy and paste the links as I still have not figured out how to make them clickable.)

Not Giving Myself Any Excuses

I have trouble believing it too! LOL!

I was up all night with my 3 year old Isabella last night. She woke up crying at ten minutes to 1:00am because she'd thrown up all over herself and her bed. I showered her, changed her clothes and rinsed all of the bedding and clothing in the shower while Robert put new sheets on her bed and found her another blanket.

20 minutes later we went through it all again, depsite having given her a bowl. She used the bowl, but then said she was done and threw up more while I took the bowl to rinse out.

So, prepared with TWO bowls, we put her back to bed. After she threw up 15 minutes and 20 minutes apart again, I went downstairs with her and cuddled with her on the couch. By this time, she was mostly dry-heaving with a bit of bile at the end.

I was up with her all night. She went back into her bed at 7:00am this morning, and threw up again at 8:15am, which was the longest stretch she has gone between bouts. I am hoping she sleeps even longer this time before being hit by it again. Or better yet, doesn't get sick again. Poor, poor Bella!

But, I'm mentioning all of this to point out that I am exhausted and the fatty, sugary foods are really calling to me! I have even considered not doing my work-out today because on top of my hips hurting, I am just so completely tired. But I told myself I would not allow any excuses, and I am not. So I will do my workout today, and I will avoid the sugary, bad-for-me food that is really calling to me right now. (Seriously, I am so tired and stressed, I just want to stuff my face! But I won't!)

Busy Day

Well, it was starting to look as if I wasn't going to find the time today to get my workout in. This morning I had an ultrasound at 10:30am. (The baby is doing fine and growing well. I have another ultrasound in 3 weeks.) Robert met me at the hospital from work, so after the ultrasound, we caught the bus into town and went to lunch (at Subway - I had the turkey breast sub on wheat with no cheese). Then I caught the bus home with my two youngest kids, and put them down for their naps. Five minutes after getting home, Robert showed up with Angelica (15 year old) in tow. She had thrown up at school. So I sent her up to bed with a bowl.

Robert took the puppy for a walk before leaving to go back to work.

Isabella (3 years old) had gone straight to sleep, but Connor (2 years old) kept climbing out of bed and refusing to go to sleep, so by the time 2:00pm rolled around, I gave up. Within about 15 minutes, he had grabbed a blanket, pillow and teddy bear and curled up on the couch and fell asleep. Once I was sure he was asleep, I realized that I only had 15 minutes before I had to leave to go pick up Gabby (5 year old) from school.

Because Bella and Connor were still asleep, I let Angelica know that I was leaving to get Gabby and walked the 2 blocks to her school and back. By the time we got back, the puppy had pooped in the back room. So, I cleaned up the mess and realized I still had dishes to do from the night before. I washed the dishes and it was already time to start making dinner, so I got dinner going.

Isabella and Connor woke up and they were hungry already, so I made them some scrambled eggs and beans and fed them. I had just enough time to go on the computer and check my e-mail, and then it was time to get dinner served up for the rest of the family.

I ate dinner, and realized that if I waited 30 minutes before doing my workout, Connor would already be in bed (it's in the same room as the elliptical crosstrainer). I decided he should stay up a little bit later tonight since he had such a late nap though.

I actually managed, despite all of this, to fit in 50 minutes on the elliptical crosstrainer! Kayla (14 year old) had been home from school since 4:00pm, and she agreed to keep an eye on Connor while I worked out, but she was doing homework at the same time. Fortunately, Connor spent the whole time I was working out just outside the safety gate to the room I was in singing and dancing along to the music I was playing.

And for the first ngiht in many, he went to sleep within minutes of being put to bed.

:)

Angelica is already feeling better, and Robert and Kayla took turns all evening taking the puppy for its walks.

So, despite being really busy and really tired and really achey in my hip from this pregnancy, and despite having to battle a stubborn toddler and deal with a sick daughter and puppy poop, today turned out to be a pretty good day.

LOL!